Food cooking devices of the grill type are divided into three general categories. The first employs charcoal burning to generate heat to grill foods placed on a grilling surface above the charcoal. The second utilizes gas, such as liquidized petroleum gas or propane, to supply heat. The third employs electricity to heat a grilling surface, usually in the form of an electric resistance heater. The present invention concerns the third category, namely electric cooking appliances for the grilling of food, although the invention may be employed in other electric cooking devices such as ovens or steamers, as will become apparent in the description below.
One of the major drawbacks of electric cooking appliances is that power may be supplied to a heater (usually a resistance-type heater) in the absence of safe operating conditions. For example, during use of the apparatus, the user may inadvertently turn on the electric heater and heat the grill plate, but without properly installing a drip pan or other means for catching hot drippings from the cooked food or means for deflecting heat upwards and away from the working surface on which the apparatus rests. As a result, when power is supplied to the heater and the foods are cooked, the hot drippings flow downward through the grill plate and onto the working surface on which the apparatus rests. The working surface may also be severely damaged by heat radiating from the heater, and can even catch fire depending upon the materials of which it is composed or the amount of fats and oils contained in the hot drippings.
Portable grill units often have a supporting base upon which the grill plate is designed to rest. Where the supporting base is composed of metal, metal alloy, or of a plastic or composite which resists very high temperatures associated with cooking or grilling food, a drip pan is optional. For example, in the charcoal type of griller, many embodiments do not employ a drip pan, allowing instead for the drippings to pass through the grill plate and directly onto the charcoal.
However, it is both economical and easier to manufacture a supporting base of plastic material which does not continuously resist the high temperatures generated to cook or grill food. Use of a supporting base in combination with a drip pan for catching hot drippings and possibly for deflecting heat away from the supporting base is advantageous in this type of device.
However, in an electrically heated device where a plastic supporting base is used, there are additional safety hazards. For example, the appliance may be inadvertently turned on where the supporting base is not properly positioned, or even absent entirely, endangering the user as well as damaging the base (and possibly the working surface on which the base rests). And, where the appliance is designed to be used with a combination of a drip pan and supporting base, the user may inadvertently turn on the electric heater and heat the grill plate, but without properly installing a drip pan or other means for catching hot drippings from the cooked food or means for deflecting heat upwards and away from the supporting base. As a result, when power is supplied to the heater and the foods are cooked, the hot drippings flow downward through the grill plate and onto the base, thus possibly damaging the base and creating a fire hazard. The base may also be severely damaged by heat radiating from the heater, and can even catch fire from such radiant heat, depending upon the materials of which it is composed or the amount of fats and oils contained in the hot drippings.